Resident Evil: Village – Thanks Rose, I Hardly Knew Ye

Resident Evil: Village’s main character Ethan Winters has been memed to hell and back, and for good reason. The man is mostly a blank slate, kind of a dolt, and isn’t very careful with his hands. But aside from his horrifically bad luck, his most dominant trait is his commitment to his family. In Resident Evil: Biohazard he braves the Baker mansion, encountering horror and a distressing amount of mold all to find his missing wife. Sure, that’s relatable, because I would like to think I would also do anything for my wife (except go to Louisiana, sorry Kayla). But Village’s story of fatherhood found a way to resonate with me long past its release because of the impending birth of my own son in a few months. 

Normally when I play through games early in the year, I cool on them as I’ve had time away from them. But looking back on Village to write this letter, I couldn’t help thinking about how much my perception of the game has changed since learning I was going to be a father in September. Ethan’s story in Village, while absurd on its face, now strikes a chord in me that it previously didn’t.

During Ethan’s time in a simultaneously snowy/swampy/industrial European village, his goal never shifts from wanting to find the dismembered yet persevered body parts of his daughter Rose to reassemble her. Again, I can not state strongly enough how silly this premise is on a surface level. It’s goofy in a way only Resident Evil can be, and there are better tales of parenthood in video games. Even while playing it, moving through the various areas of this unnamed European city, I rarely thought of Ethan’s relationship to Rose because there really isn’t much to it. Rose was a plot device that pushed the game forward during my initial playthroughs, and nothing more. 

Practically as soon as I finished Village, I knew that my letter was going to be about the game. I even joked with Ty that my original title for this was going to be “Beyond the Mommy Milkers.” I tossed around the idea of talking about how Village’s marketing using Lady Dimitrescu despite her little involvement in the game itself was actually kind of brilliant, and I still think it is brilliant! But when I sat down to write this letter, I realized that that wasn’t what resonated with me anymore. I was surprised when I realized that Ethan and Rose’s story was what I was drawn to, despite not having given it a second (or third or fourth) thought when I originally played the game. Soon that’s going to be me in Ethan’s shoes (in the least literal sense as possible, hopefully), and like a light switch, that realization flipped what’s important to me about this game. 

I don’t know why Village made me go absolutely feral in the spring. The gameplay is fine, the level design is excellent, the environment is stellar, the scares are perfect because I am a baby, and the story is more Resident Evil junk food, which are all things that I think make this game special. But looking back on Village, I feel my connection to that game will only increase just a month short of the game’s one year anniversary in March when I hold my son for the first time.